rustout

This is the feeling of frustration experienced as a result of boredom with one’s work.  It is the opposite of burnout where you have been super stressed and worked harder than any mere mortal should.  The knowledge that your work is worthless, that there is no motivation to do better, that your skills are under-utilised and that your job provides no stimulus to you whatsoever gradually erodes your satisfaction in your work life.  Instead of performing to the best of your abilities you are being asked to do more and more of subsidiary jobs like admin.  Teachers, for example, can feel that the time they spend with students, actually teaching them something, is being squeezed by the time they spend filling in forms.  So rustout is definitely not the same as quiet quitting (dealt with on October 4, 2022) in which people at work deliberately do the bare minimum. People suffering rustout want to do more with more energy and creativity but are prevented from doing so.